Queen

The Works (1984)

The Works (1984)

1. Radio Ga Ga
2. Tear it Up
3. It's a Hard Life
4. Man on the Prowl
5. Machines (or 'Back to humans')
6. I Want to Break Free
7. Keep Passing the Open Windows
8. Hammer to Fall
9. Is This the World We Created...?

Produced by Queen and Mack
Engineered by Mack
Cover Concept by Queen
Fred Mandel: rip-roaring piano finale on 'Prowl' synthesizer arrangements and programming on 'Radio Ga Ga' synth on 'Break Free' and candy floss on 'Hammer To Fall'
Mack: Demolition fairlight programming on 'Machines'

Released: Monday, 27th February 1984
Higest UK Chart Position: 1

Radio Ga Ga

(Roger Taylor)

Radio I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio
Radio.

You gave them all those old time stars
Through wars of worlds - invaded by Mars
You made 'em laugh - you made 'em cry
You made us feel like we could fly.

So don't become some background noise
A backdrop for the girls and boys
Who just don't know or just don't care
And just complain when you're not there
You had your time you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio.

All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!

We watch the shows - we watch the stars
On videos for hours and hours
We hardly need to use our ears
How music changes through the years.

Let's hope you never leave old friend
Like all good things on you we depend
So stick around because we might miss you
When we grow tired of all this visual
You had your time - you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio - Radio

All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!

Radio ga ga
Radio ga ga
Radio ga ga
Radio

You had your time you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio

Tear It Up

(Brian May)

Are you ready? - well are you ready?
We're gonna tear it up
Yeah yeah yeah yeah

(Hey)
Give me your mind baby give me your body
Give me some time baby let's have a party
It ain't no time for sleeping baby
Soon it's round your street I'm creeping
You'd better be ready

We gonna Tear it up
Stir it up
Break it up - baby

You gonna Tear it up
Shake it up
Make it up - as you go along

Tear it up
Square it up
Wake it up - baby

Tear it up
Stir it up
Stake it out - and you can't go wrong

(Hey listen)
I love you because you're sweet and I love you because you're naughty
I love you for your mind baby give me your body
I wanna be a toy at your birthday party
Wind me up - wind me up - wind me up - let me go

Tear it up
Stir it up
Break it up - let me go

Tear it up
Shake it up
Make it up - as you go along

Tear it up
Turn it up
Burn it up

Are you ready? (Oh yeah)
Baby baby baby are you ready for me? (Oh yeah)
Baby baby baby are you ready for love? (Oh yeah)
Are you ready - are you ready - are you ready for me? (Oh yeah)
I love you so near I love you so far
I gotta tell you baby you're driving me Ga Ga

It's a Hard Life

(Freddie Mercury)

I don't want my freedom
There's no reason for living with a broken heart

This is a tricky situation
I've only got myself to blame
It's just a simple fact of life
It can happen to anyone

You win - you lose
It's a chance you have to take with love
Oh yeah - I fell in love
And now you say it's over and I'm falling apart

It's a hard life
To be true lovers together
To love and live forever in each others hearts
It's a long hard fight
To learn to care for each other
To trust in one another right from the start
When you're in love

I try and mend the broken pieces
I try to fight back the tears
They say it's just a state of mind
But it happens to everyone

How it hurts - deep inside
When your love has cut you down to size
Life is tough - on your own
Now I'm waiting for something to fall from the skies
And I'm waiting for love

Yes it's a hard life
Two lovers together
To love and live forever in each others hearts
It's a long hard fight
To learn to care for each other
To trust in one another - right from the start
When you're in love

Yes it's a hard life
In a world that's filled with sorrow
There are people searching for love in every way
It's a long hard fight
But I'll always live for tomorrow
I'll look back on myself and say I did it for love
Yes I did it for love - for love - oh I did it for love

(The introduction is based on the aria "Vesti la giubba" from Leoncavallo's opera "I Pagliacci".)

Man on the Prowl

(Freddie Mercury)

I'm gonna take a little walk on the wild side
I'm gonna loosen up and get me some gas
I'm gonna get me some action
Go crazy driving is the fast lane
My baby left me alone
She done me dirty and I'm feeling so lonely
So come home come home
If you don't you're gonna break my heart

Man on the prowl
You'd better watch out
I'm on the loose and I'm looking for trouble
So look out (yeah yeah) - look out (yeah yeah)
I'm a man on the prowl

I don't wanna be a rock'n'roll steady
I just wanna be low down trash
I wanna go to the movies
All I wanna do is sit on my ass
So honey come home (come home come home)
Don't leave me when I'm feeling so lonely
Come home (yeah yeah) - come home (yeah yeah)
If you don't you're gonna break my heart

Man on the prowl
You'd better watch out
I'm on the loose and I'm looking for trouble
So look out (yeah yeah) - look out (yeah yeah)
Because I'm a man on the prowl

Well I keep dreaming about my baby
But it ain't gonna get me nowhere
I'm gonna teach my baby dancing
But I ain't no Fred Astaire

So baby look out - I'm a man on the prowl
Look out - man on the prowl - yeah!
Baby baby baby look out - man on the prowl

So baby come home
I'm on the loose and I'm looking for trouble
Baby come home - oh yeah!
Because I'm a man on the prowl
So honey come home - come home
Because I'm a man on the prowl - yeah!
Man on the prowl

Machines (or 'Back to humans')

(Brian May and Roger Taylor)

Machines...

It's a machines world
Don't tell me I ain't got no soul
When the machines take over
It ain't no place for rock and roll

They tell me I don't care
But deep inside I'm just a man
They freeze me they burn me
They squeeze me they stress me
With smoke blackened pistons of steel they compress me
But no-one but no-one but no-one can wrest me away
Back to humans

We have no disease no trouble of mind
No thank you or please no regard for the time
We never cry we never retreat
We have no conception of love or defeat

What's that machine noise?
It's bytes and megachips for tea
It's that machine boys
With random access memory
Never worry never mind
Not for money not for gold

Its software is hardware
Its heartbeat is time-share
Its midwife's a disc drive
Its sex life is quantised
It's self-perpetuating a parahumanoidarianised

Back to humans
Back to humans

Back to machines
Machines...

Living in a new world
Thinking in the past
Living in a new world
How you gonna last?
Machine world

Back to humans

It's a machines world
Thinking in the past (back to humans)
Living in a new world
How you gonna last?
Machine world

It's a machine's world

Back to humans
Living in a new world
How you gonna last?
Machine world
It's a machine's world

I Want to Break Free

(John Deacon)

I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You're so self satisfied I don't need you
I've got to break free
God knows, god knows I want to break free

I've fallen in love
I've fallen in love for the first time
And this time I know it's for real
I've fallen in love yeah
God knows, god knows I've fallen in love

It's strange but it's true
I can't get over the way you love me like you do
But I have to be sure
When I walk out that door
Oh how I want to be free baby
Oh how I want to be free
Oh how I want to break free

But life still goes on
I can't get used to living without living without
Living without you by my side
I don't want to live alone hey
God knows got to make it on my own
So baby can't you see
I've got to break free

I've got to break free
I want to break free yeah

I want I want I want I want to break free....

Keep Passing The Open Windows

(Freddie Mercury)

This is the only life for me
Surround myself around my own fantasy
You just gotta be strong and believe in yourself
Forget all the sadness because love is all you need
Love is all you need

Do you know what it's like to be alone in this world
When you're down and out on your luck and you're a failure?
Wake up screaming in the middle of the night
You think it's all been a waste of time
It's been a bad year
You start believing everything's gonna be alright
Next minute you're down and you're flat on your back
A brand new day is beginning
Get that sunny feeling and you're on your way

Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just believe - just keep passing the open windows

Do you know how it feels when you don't have a friend
Without a job and no money to spend?
You're a stranger
All you think about is suicide
One of these days you're gonna lose the fight
You'd better keep out of danger - yeah!
That same old feeling just keeps burning deep inside
Keep telling yourself it's gonna be the end
Oh get yourself together
Things are looking better everyday

Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just believe - just keep passing the open windows

This is the only life for me
Surround myself around my own fantasy
You just gotta be strong and believe in yourself
Forget all the sadness because love is all you need
Love is all you need

Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just believe - just keep passing the open windows

You just gotta be strong and believe in yourself
Forget all the sadness because love is all you need - yeah
Love is all you need
Baby - love is all you need

Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just keep passing the open windows...

Hammer to Fall

(Brian May)

Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight yeah

You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
We're just waiting
For the hammer to fall

Oh every night and every day
A little piece of you is falling away
But lift your face the Western Way
Build your muscles as your body decays yeah

Toe your line and play their game yeah
Let the anaesthetic cover it all
Till one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same (oh no oh no)
Lock your door the rain is pouring
Through your window pane (oh no)
Baby now your struggle's all in vain

For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder louder

What the hell we fighting for?
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
While your waiting for the hammer to hammer to fall

It's gonna fall
Hammer..you know..hammer to fall
Waiting for the hammer to fall now baby
While you're waiting for the hammer to fall

Give it to me one more time

Is This the World We Created...?

(Freddie Mercury and Brian May)

Just look at all those hungry mouths we have to feed
Take a look at all the suffering we breed
So many lonely faces scattered all around
Searching for what they need

Is this the world we created?
What did we do it for?
Is this the world we invaded
Against the law?
So it seems in the end
Is this what we're all living for today?
The world that we created

You know that every day a helpless child is born
Who needs some loving care inside a happy home
Somewhere a wealthy man is sitting on his throne
Waiting for life to go by

Is this the world we created?
We made it on our own
Is this the world we devastated
Right to the bone?
If there's a god in the sky looking down
What can he think of what we've done
To the world that he created?

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